The recent events in Ferguson and New York City have brought national attention to long-felt issues surrounding systemic inequalities that disproportionally impact underrepresented minorities, particularly Black men. We extend our condolences to the families of Michael Brown, Eric Gardner, and those touched by these incidents. Our nation has witnessed a response, which has brought together communities of color and allies, many who have engaged in peaceful protests and non-violent demonstrations. Inherent in the tenants of our values, UCSF and the Office of Diversity and Outreach (ODO) know that “Black Lives Matter”. As a public institution, we work tirelessly to address health disparities and promote social justice in our work as learners, educators, clinicians, and researchers.

On behalf of the UCSF leadership, I want to acknowledge how proud we are of our UCSF Community for living these values, and we want to commend our student leaders who have organized and engaged in peaceful demonstrations that acknowledge the relation of racism and violence to health, as awareness is the first step towards change. The Chancellor’s Executive Leadership Committee, The Office of Diversity and Outreach, the Multicultural Resource Center, and countless campus partners are working together to implement effective strategies to address unconscious bias, increase cultural competencies, and engage in socially just practices. The wisdom of Dr. King reminds us that as human beings, our freedom is inextricably bound together. All lives matter, and our UCSF community stands united in this journey.

On behalf of both the campus and medical center UCSF Ebola Response Task Forces, we write with an update to our current efforts. As you know, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has designated UCSF Medical Center as an Ebola treatment center – the only hospital in San Francisco to earn this designation. This is a reflection of the hard work of hundreds across the medical center and campus who continue to prepare for and respond to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), both here and in West Africa. Read more at: http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/12/121596/ucsf-receives-national-designati...

Altogether, 35 hospitals nationally were identified by U.S. officials as Ebola treatment centers, based on their ability to provide the necessary staff, training, equipment, and other resources to treat patients with the unique care requirements of EVD.

We strongly believe that we have a societal obligation to protect the people of California from an epidemic spread of EVD and that the best way to do this is to control EVD at its source. Thus, we have created a system to facilitate volunteers’ participation in care, treatment and disease control activities in West Africa as well as to minimize barriers that might have an impact on involvement. We have updated the guidelines for these travelers to reflect the most current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This also includes requirements that all travelers complete a checklist,...